The Australian Psychosocial Alliance is warning about the consequences of a decline in people with mental health-related disabilities on the NDIS.
Labelling the decline “dramatic”, the Alliance said it’s putting thousands of vulnerable Australians at risk.
In a new report, called Access Denied: Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS, the Alliance of mental health support organisations found NDIS application approval rates for people with psychosocial disability have dropped by nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) in the last five years.
Only 25 per cent of applications were approved for this group according to the most recent data, compared with 66 per cent of such applications at the start of the 20/21 financial year.
The declining access rate sits in contrast to the access rate across all disabilities, which has remained relatively steady.
Other findings in the Access Denied report include poor understanding of psychosocial disability and the impacts of mental ill-health, prohibitive costs associated with applications, and suggestions from non-medically qualified assessors to try inappropriate treatments.
‘Systemic discrimination’
“We are seeing growing inequity in access to the NDIS for people with psychosocial disability,” Alliance spokesperson and CEO of member organisation Neami National, Tom Dalton, said.
“It’s verging on systemic discrimination. While the government and NDIA have not publicly made any changes to eligibility criteria, it is quite clear there are changes behind the scenes that are affecting NDIS approvals for this group.”
The APA is calling on the Federal Government to resolve psychosocial disability access to the NDIS.
It’s also calling for improvements to the NDIA’s psychosocial disability capability, and greater expert oversight prioritising the representation of people with lived experience.
Not the way to reduce costs
Access Denied draws on NDIS statistics, organisational data and first-hand insights from participants, carers and others involved in the system. It estimates thousands of Australians who should be eligible for support are being excluded.
“While we understand the need to reduce scheme costs, this is not the way to do it and will ultimately lead to an increased burden on acute services in other areas such as health, homelessness, and unemployment. It is a false economy with a human and societal cost,” Dalton said.
“People who need the NDIS need the day-to-day support that the scheme was designed for. The rise in rejections for access means many are missing out on necessary and impactful supports, while waitlists for already-stretched mental health services will continue to grow. We need to build pathways which reflect an understanding of psychosocial disability and mental health, so that everyone gets the support they need.”
The Access Denied: Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS report can be accessed here.